miscLinks

At Forecast, Hear From Radio's Front-Line Advocates

10/24/13

The NAB and the RAB are the industry's leading trade associations, and they work hard to keep the industry positive about the future. That's important -- but it's just a small part of what they do. These groups are far more than just industry cheerleaders, and at Radio Ink's Forecast 2014, set for November 20, 2013 in New York, Entercom Communications CEO David Field will host a frank conversation with NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith and RAB President/CEO Erica Farber.

What will these top executives have to say about the real issues they see facing radio going into 2014? What will be the organizations' top priorities next year -- and what's on their radar? This is a rare chance to hear a candid (no reporters allowed) conversation between a leading radio CEO (and Forecast co-chair) and the heads of the trade organizations that represent and support the industry -- and it's only at Forecast.

David Field is president and CEO of Philadelphia-based Entercom Communications, one of the country's largest radio broadcasting companies and a member of the New York Stock Exchange. Before becoming Entercom's president in 1998, he served in a number of positions with the company, including COO and CFO. Before joining Entercom, Field was an investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in New York. Field serves on the boards of Entercom, the NAB, the RAB, and the Wilderness Society. He served as chairman of the Radio Board of the NAB from 2005-2007.

As president and CEO of the RAB, Erica Farber leads radio’s advocacy efforts by helping to drive business, grow advertising revenue, and communicate radio’s digital transition. Farber joined the organization in January 2012 as executive vice president, responsible for membership, services, and professional development. Before that she was the CEO of radio consulting and Internet service provider the Farber Connection LLC, a firm she founded in 2010. During her 15-year tenure at Radio & Records, Farber held various positions including COO, President, Publisher, and CEO. She has held nearly every position in radio sales and management, including rising through the ranks at the Interep Companies to servie as EVP/radio development director. Farber currently serves as chair of the Radio Creative Fund and is on the boards of the Ad Council, Arbitron, Broadcasters Foundation of America, and the Library of American Broadcasting.

Gordon Smith joined the NAB as president and CEO in November 2009. Before joining the NAB, he served as a two-term U.S. senator from Oregon and later as senior adviser in the Washington, DC, offices of Covington & Burling LLP. During his tenure in the Senate, Smith’s committee assignments included the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees all broadcast-related legislation. His role on the Commerce Committee and as chairman of a Senate High Tech Task Force helped foster his interest in new media and new technology issues. Before his election to the U.S. Senate in 1996, he was elected to the Oregon State Senate, rising to the position of president of that body after only three years. Smith is an attorney who practiced law in New Mexico and Arizona before returning to Arizona to direct the family-owned Smith Frozen Foods business.